The Planning System and Flood Risk Management - Offaly County ...

5.4 Flood-Resilient ConstructionFlood resilient construction approaches accept that flood water will enterbuildings and that this situation should be allowed for in the design of internalbuilding components, services and finishes. These measures should be carefullydesigned to limit damage caused by floodwater and allow relatively quickrecovery. However, these measures on their own are not suitable for areaswith potential for a combined risk of quickly rising water levels and/or wherespeed of flow is likely to be high and dangerous to the stability of buildingsand the safety of people.5.5 Emergency Response PlanningIn addition to considering physical design issues, in planning and assessingnew development attention must be paid to the issue of effective emergencyresponse planning for flood events in areas of new development. This isnormally the responsibility of the developer.Key elements are:• the provision of flood warnings, evacuation plans and ensuring publicawareness of flood risks to people where they live and work;• Coordination of responses and discussion with relevant emergencyservices i.e. Local Authorities, Fire & Rescue, Civil Defence and An GardaSiochána through the SFRA;• Awareness of risks and evacuation procedures and the need for familyflood plans.5.6 Access and Egress During Flood EventsIn general, above-ground flood escape routes should be kept to publiclyaccessible land, as safeguarding these is difficult if they are located withinprivate property. Such routes should have signage and other flood awarenessmeasures in place, to inform local communities of the impacts of flooding.The location of the most suitable access routes can be decided from the resultsof the flood risk assessment.5.7 Further InformationFurther and more detailed guidance and advice can be found athttp://www.flooding.ie and in the Building Regulations.In the UK, “Improving the Flood Performance of New Buildings” producedby the Departyment of Communities and Local Government is a valuableresource. In addition, a full technical report prepared for the Association ofBritish Insurers and the Building Research Establishment on Flood ResilientHomes can be downloaded from the ABI website (http://www.abi.org). Also,the British Standards Institute (BSI) has introduced a "Kitemark" CertificationScheme for flood-resilient products, and CIRIA has published a number ofdocuments detailing flood-protection products for the home. These can bedownloaded from the CIRIA website (http://www.ciria.org).81Planning Guidelines